


Not Alone Anymore

by lineofpepsi



Category: Banana Bus Squad
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Evan gets drunk in one part, Evan's a little shit sometimes, Falling In Love, Fluff, M/M, Swearing, kinda enemies to lovers, very very very minor character death at one point
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-29 08:16:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19826146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lineofpepsi/pseuds/lineofpepsi
Summary: Evan is the prince, and also at the age where he is assigned a Royal Guard.Tyler happens to be that guard.Evan's not happy about this, and neither is Tyler.But in the end, it's the best thing that ever happened to them.





	Not Alone Anymore

**Author's Note:**

  * For [derseroyalty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/derseroyalty/gifts).



> I got the idea for this fic from derseroyalty's tumblr blog, where they posted an ask about a royal guard AU and here we are, like a month later. 
> 
> derseroyalty, I love your blog and fics so much and I hope you like this fic if you ever read it
> 
> Also yeah I realized that Evan's older than Tyler by a yearish like when i finally finished writing this, but I also don't care, so just pretend they're the same age, please and thank you.
> 
> I hope y'all enjoy!

“From this point forward, you will be assigned a personal guard to accompany you at all times.” 

“I refuse.” Evan stood before his parents, making sure to stare both of them in the eyes the same amount of time so he wasn’t showing favoritism. 

His father takes a deep breath, one that shows he was expecting this response but hoping that he could avoid it. “You cannot refuse, Evan. You are the prince, and you are now 16 years old. You will have a personal guard, and you will accept that.” 

“No, I won’t.” 

“Yes, you will.” His mother speaks now, looking at him with the sort of exasperation he’s used to seeing from her. “Evan, we’ve been over this. As royalty, we have a lot of enemies, and especially now that you’re coming of age, your life is in greater and greater danger every day.” 

“Then maybe we shouldn’t suck so much!” Evan throws his hands in the air, unable to contain his petty anger. 

Both his parents just stare at him. They know him well enough to know that he’s having a tantrum, so they ignore his statement for now. He’ll probably be scolded for it later though. 

“We’ll send your guard on up to your room in an hour, and then he’ll join us for dinner. You  _ will _ behave yourself, yes?” His father leaves no room for discussion, but Evan doesn’t doubt his ability to make room. 

“I always behave myself,” Evan almost can’t keep a straight face as he says it, but he manages. He bows before his parents - more so out of spite than respect for their titles - and excuses himself to his room to pout. 

In the rational part of his mind, Evan had always known this was happening. Being the only child of the king and queen means his life is endangered at all times of the day, even when he’s just using the goddamn bathroom. 

He’s thought about what would happen if he died while taking a piss. No afterlife at all would be able to stop him from taking revenge on whoever would kill him like that.

But even though it’s all rational and smart, Evan doesn’t give a shit. He doesn’t want a personal guard to tail him at all times. He doesn’t even know where the guard would sleep - in his room, or the room right next to him? 

He hopes that it’s the second option; a permanent sleepover isn’t something he’s interested in. 

Before he knows it, someone’s knocking on his door. Has he really been pouting for an hour already? That’s gotta be a record, usually he gets bored before a proper pouting has commenced. 

“Come in,” Evan calls to the door because he refuses to leave his bed. 

The door opens, and in steps someone who has to duck to get through it. Tall bastard. 

He’s wearing light armor with the royal family insignia and carrying a steel sword - typical guard attire., What isn’t typical about him is his rather obnoxious height and extremely blue eyes.

“You’re my babysitter?” Evan asks petulantly. He pushes himself into a sitting position to get a better look at the dude who’s now his shadow.

“I was expecting a future king, but I guess you’re the baby,” He replies easily. “Fitting.” 

Evan narrows his eyes, not really appreciating the guard’s mood right now. “What’s your name?” 

“Tyler.” 

“How old are you?” 

“Sixteen.” 

“Actually?” Evan rises from his bed entirely, now sounding incredulous. “You aren’t even a proper guard?” 

Tyler’s eyebrow twitches, but his expression otherwise remains stoic. “I’m the most promising pupil in my rank, if that helps, Your Highness.” He says the title with more than a hint of vitriol. “I’m sure I could knock your ass down, anyway.” 

Evan sputters, taken aback by how this dude is talking to him. “What the fuck?” He asks, already debating whether to complain to his parents about this  _ sass _ . 

“Yes, Your Highness?” 

“You are insufferable.” 

“Thank you, Your Highness.” 

Dinner is awkward if nothing else. Evan’ss forced to sit next to Tyler at the long ass royal table, with his parents at the other end. 

His parents keep trying to make a conversation actually happen, but Tyler’s clearly uncomfortable being in the direct presence of the royal family and Evan’s still a little pissed about the whole situation. 

Through his parents’ carefully planned questions, Evan learns that Tyler was picked because he’s not only the best, but also close in age so that it wouldn’t be too weird for him to follow Evan fucking everywhere. 

It’s clear that his mother is hoping he and Tyler will be great friends one day. His father doesn’t give a shit, so long as his son doesn’t die. 

Evan doesn’t mention the fact that Tyler’s apparently a sass master.

Later that night, when Tyler is hopefully asleep in the room adjacent to Evan’s, the young prince decides that he isn’t going to let having this dumb guard mess with his lifestyle. So he does what he’s been doing a few times a week for the last couple years: he sneaks out the window to go meet up with his best friend. 

His best friend lives in a small house that’s well into the city, so it’s a decent trek to make. He has to go through the palace grounds, through a forest, and then towards the center of the city.

But he makes the journey several times a week because it’s the most fun he’ll ever have. 

Especially since his best friend is Delirious, a well-known bandit who’s notorious for stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. And he’s also friends with a bunch of loud people who have fun in all the ways that royalty aren’t supposed to. 

When he arrives at the house, Evan finds his best friend alone, enjoying a peaceful night that he intends to ruin. 

Evan spends the first half hour of his time there ranting about his situation, which Delirious finds all too hilarious. To the point where Evan is considering just leaving, going back home and pouting some more in his room. 

“Is he hot?” Delirious asks once the prince is done with his little tantrum. 

Evan sighs. This not the consolidation he needs right now. “I don’t know, I try not to look at his dumb face.” 

“You’re telling me you don’t know if your new shadow is hot?” 

“He’s tall, I know that.” 

“What more could you want from a guy,” Delirious deadpans.

“I’m not supposed to fraternize with him, he literally holds my life in his hands.” Evan thinks back over what he just said, and internally groans. “My parents entrusted my life into the hands of a sassy fucking teenager.” 

“Wait, he’s your age?” Delirious leans forward in the rickety wooden chair he has in front of his fire. It’s one of three whole pieces of furniture that occupy the dingy little hut he calls home, the others being his bed and a dining table, all poor quality. 

“Yes. My parental units thought it would be better if he was my age. They’re hoping we’ll be just the best of friends. He’s too fucking annoying for that.” 

“Because he bothers to talk back to you? I do that shit, maybe he will be your new best friend.” 

Evan levels a glare at his friend. Once again, the door is looking very nice right now. “You are no help at all.” 

“What the fuck can I do about this? You aren’t even supposed to be here. What if your shadow finds out, huh? What if he manages to follow you here? You’re fucked, my dude.” 

“He wouldn’t arrest you or anything,” Evan tries. He made sure he wasn’t followed, though. 

“I’m not worried about myself, I’m worried about you.” Delirious seemingly sobers up, shooting his friend a concerned look. “Maybe you shouldn’t come out to see me so often.”

Evan holds up his hand and shakes his head. “I’m gonna stop you right the fuck there. You know what these visits are to me.” 

Delirious holds up both his hands, palms out as a surrender. “I had to try. In the meantime, it seems like you should just make peace with this shit, considering nothing can be done. Do you even know his name?”

“It’s Tyler.” 

“No last name?”   
“He didn’t say.” 

“Ask him about his life. Tell him about yours. Make a new friend, it wouldn’t kill ya. Especially since he’s gonna be tailing you everywhere except here.” 

“Since when the fuck do you have good ideas?” Evan isn’t liking this whole rational side of his friend. “Who are you and what have you done with Delirious?” 

“I’m insulted,” Delirious brings his hand to chest with an overdramatic slap. “I have good ideas all the damn time, you just don’t listen!” 

Having a guard isn’t as bad as Evan thought it would be.

Sure, it’s weird being followed at all times of the day, but Tyler doesn’t usually… talk, or anything. He just stands there and looks intimidating. 

Just as Evan’s about to get used to it, his mother suggests to have Tyler train him in self-defense and sparring and everything else that Tyler’s just the best at. 

Evan tries to protest it, but he knows he can’t. 

So he finds himself in the courtyard where the training takes place for the rest of the guards. There’s a separate area, fenced off with tall hedges that create some semblance of privacy. 

Good. Evan doesn’t want the other guards to see Tyler knocking him to the ground. 

Which he does. A lot. 

Tyler really was top of his class or whatever. He knows his stuff. 

Evan doesn’t, and it’s biting him in the ass now. 

Evan continues going to see Delirious during the nights. He keeps that part of his lifestyle unchanged. 

He keeps going on raids, helping Del and his friends, having more fun with them than anyone else. 

He rants to Del about Tyler. 

Delirious never has anything helpful to say. He just tells Evan to get to know Tyler, to actually try and talk to him. 

Evan doesn’t want that. 

Evan ends up trying to talk to Tyler. 

It’s late at night. Evan decides to bring Tyler to one of his favorite spots in the palace; on the roof, right over where the royal court gathers. 

Getting Tyler is more difficult than it should be. His guard proves to be wary of his intentions, probably thinking Evan’s going to try and shove him off the roof. 

And Evan won’t lie, he’s considered it. Not for very long - if Tyler were to be indisposed somehow - i.e. being dead - then another guard would be assigned to him. 

So Evan’s intentions are harmless as he practically drags Tyler up to the roof. He takes the guard over to his special spot - he has a blanket set up, as well as some wine he might’ve stolen from the kitchens. 

He doesn’t really like wine, and he’s pretty sure Tyler doesn’t either, but it’s all he could get. 

So Evan sits down and pours the wine into the two tankards he brought with him. 

“What is this?” Tyler asks, still standing over by the window they had climbed through.

“Wine,” Evan answers even though he knows that isn’t what was being asked. He looks to his guard, and pats the blanket next to him. “Come on, sit down. Drink with me, look at the stars, relax.” 

The stars are very pretty from up here. If Evan had a choice, he thinks he might’ve liked studying them for a living. 

But that’s a hobby for another day.

“You want me to drink wine with you on the roof of the castle?” 

“Yes.” 

Tyler purses his lips. 

Evan can’t really tell if the guard is worried they’ll be caught or if the guard is considering telling on him. He hopes it’s the former.

Either way, it’s a moot point; Tyler sits on the blanket, as far from Evan as he can get while still being on the soft fabric, and accepts the wine. 

He takes a sip and grimaces.

Evan does the same. “Yeah, it- it’s not good, but it’s all I could get.” He sips it once more, and it tastes no better. But he won’t chug it, because he learned from his previous mistakes. And he finds himself wanting to make a good impression with his guard, even though Tyler’s already seen him pouting and whining and getting his ass kicked in their sparring matches.

“Why did you bring me here?” 

“Because if I didn’t, you would’ve followed me up here anyways,” Evan replies. He winces - he sounded too rude. He shakes his head, takes a deep breath, and looks at Tyler. “Sorry, I… look, we’re practically stuck together for the rest of our lives, right?”

Tyler nods. 

“So we might as well be able to fucking hold a conversation, right? Not just like silently dislike each other?” 

“You want to become friends.” A blunt statement, not a blunt question.

“Yeah,” Evan breathes, now staring into his wine as if it’ll help him get out of how awkward this situation is. 

“You brought me to the roof to drink and become friends?”

“Yeah.” 

“Not gonna lie, I thought you were gonna try and push me off or some shit.” 

Evan scoffs and waves his hand. “I would never, ever do that!” 

“Right.” 

“Just drink your damn wine,” Evan says as he tops off Tyler’s tankard.

And for once, Tyler listens to him. 

And so, they drink. They drink until the bottle is empty, until their heads feel light and their stomachs feel warm. 

And they talk. They talk until they know more about each other from the last few hours than they did in the entire month or so they’ve been stuck together. 

Tyler talks through his childhood, how he was trained for the Royal Guard from a young age, how he has friends that are still training or already deployed, how he misses them. Evan resolves to take Tyler to his friends someday.

Evan talks through his childhood, how he was prepped to be king since he could talk in relatively full sentences, how any toys he had were related to being king, how he was never able to be a child. He talks as if it doesn’t bother him, but Tyler can see that it did. That it does. Tyler resolves to let Evan have as much fun as he possibly wants, even though it’ll probably be at Tyler’s expense in the future. Evan likes to pull pranks.

They talk until they pass out, waking up to mild hangovers and the sunrise. 

Even though they have headaches and generally feel like shit, both of them feel a thousand times better.

Once Evan and Tyler are awake enough, Evan reaches his hand out, pinkie extended and eyebrows raised. 

“Friends?” He asks, wiggling his little finger. 

Tyler grins, and reaches his own pinkie out, linking them together. “Friends,” He confirms.

A few months pass. 

Evan and Tyler continue to grow closer, to become better friends. 

They joke with each other and they jab at each other. 

Evan’s there for Tyler when Tyler can’t handle the world, when he gets stuck wondering why he couldn’t have lived a life where he doesn’t have the weight of the future king’s life on his shoulders. 

Tyler’s there for Evan when Evan can’t handle the pressure of knowing that the future of the kingdom is up to him. Well, to them, because Evan already knows he’ll be relying on Tyler a great deal.

They make a point to ignore the future as much as they possibly can. They focus on the moment, on cementing their friendship, on making sure that they’ll have each other’s backs when it matters.

Evan can’t help but to think about Tyler possibly being something more - he wants that, he wants something more from their relationship, but it can’t happen. 

It won’t happen. Evan pushes those thoughts away, and definitely doesn’t think them every time he manages to make Tyler laugh or smile.

Evan goes to Delirious one night, a calm, unassuming night in the fall. The trip is good - it’s just he and Delirious this time, and they simply eat dinner together and talk. They have the kind of conversation where you can never remember exactly what you said or even what you talked about, you just know that it was a good conversation.

Then, on the way back to the palace, the air seems to still. 

Evan can tell almost instantly that he’s being followed. He can hear them behind him; they aren’t good about being quiet. 

He guesses there’s at least three, maybe more if they’re smart enough for that. 

He doesn’t really know what to do about this. He’s almost to the outskirts of the city, almost to the end of slight protection. Once he’s passing through the forest, there’s nothing to stop those people from attacking him.

He’s getting better at combat thanks to Tyler, but not good enough to fight off three armed people. Evan really wishes he had told his guard about these visits; he feels terribly alone and naked without Tyler by his side. But there’s nothing he can do about it now.

Evan makes it to the woods. He doesn’t want to drag this along, so he stops walking. He turns and draws his sword. 

The three intruders see him. They draw their own swords, ready to meet him head on. 

One of them charges. 

Evan meets them halfway. 

It’s a clash of metal, sparks flying, blades screeching against each other, shouts thrown from either side. 

Evan distantly registers a separate sound, a battle of its own a bit away from him. 

He isn’t alone in fighting these stupid heads. 

He manages to dispatch the one he was fighting with a hit to the head, knocking them out. He turns to help whoever’s fighting the other two, intent on giving them a gold medal for this.

A blur of silver rushes at him, and Evan panics when a hand closes around his throat, shoving him back with enough force to knock the wind from him when they slam him against a tree. 

His tries to raise his sword, but his arm is pressed down, rendering it useless. 

He’s about to scream, but then familiar blue eyes flood his flickering vision, and he relaxes. 

“You’re a fucking idiot,” Tyler seethes, his hand still to the prince’s throat. His eyes are alight with anger, yes, but with something deeper. Blood is spattered across his face. Evan doesn’t have to take a closer look at the bodies not getting up from the forest floor to know that the crimson dotting his pale skin isn’t his own. 

Evan takes this single moment to look, to truly  _ look _ at Tyler. The boy looks furious, but concerned. He’s barely breathing hard, as if this was nothing to him physically. His eyes are frantically searching Evan’s, ensuring that the prince is alright. 

_ Fuck, he’s cute. _

Evan pushes that thought aside for now. There’s more pressing matters to deal with at the moment.

“You killed them,” Evan whispers. His hands go to the one on his throat, but they don’t claw, they don’t grip and pull, they just sit there on top of silver armor. 

Tyler looks unapologetic. “They were going to kill you. It’s my job to stop that.” His voice sounds flat, but that anger is still there. “You should get home. I’ll take care of this.”

Evan shakes his head fiercely. “Come home with me.” He doesn’t really want to say that walking home alone sounds absolutely awful right now.

Tyler pauses, but nods. He lets go of Evan, but Evan doesn’t let go of him; the prince grabs for the guard’s hand, lacing their fingers together. 

Tyler’s grip is too tight. Evan says nothing about it. He grips just as tight.

Together, they start walking home. 

A storm of thoughts plague Evan as they trek home. Namely that he could’ve - would’ve - fucking  _ died _ if weren’t for Tyler. He finds that he wants to thank his guard, but he doesn’t know how.

He also finds that he cannot get one specific thought out of his head. His mind is reeling, going a thousand kilometers an hour, but one thought is always there; his guard is cute. Like super cute. And even kinda hot. And still holding his hand as they walk silently through the woods. 

With his mind so far gone, Evan doesn’t notice the stick in the middle of the path until he’s tripping over it and landing on his face in the dirt. 

He just lays there for a moment, still in shock. Then, he’s upset. How dare that stupid branch trip the prince? Who the fuck does that stick think it is?

Evan pushes himself into a sitting position, intent on giving that stick a piece of his mind, only to find Tyler standing next to him, holding out his hand and obviously fighting off a grin. 

Just then, Evan realizes something because he’s super fucking smart. 

“You knew where I would be.” 

Tyler’s would-be grin fell, but otherwise he remained stoic. “You aren’t as sneaky as you think you are.” 

“How long have you known?” Evan lets his guard pull him off the ground. He stands with his hands on his hips and his head cocked, now upset for apparently not being able to sneak quietly out the castle. 

“Long enough.” 

“So the first night you were my guard and you heard me?” 

“Pretty much, yeah.” Tyler shrugs, as if isn’t his fault. 

“Have you followed me this entire time?” 

“Not every time.”

“But you never said anything? Not even to my parents?” 

At that, Tyler looks almost… abashed. He shrugs again, and looks to the sky so Evan can’t see his face, pretending to examine the moon’s position in the sky. But Evan can still see his neck and his ears tinged with pink.

“We need to get going,” Tyler mutters. He tries to push past Evan, but the prince reaches out and grabs his wrist. 

Despite having the strength to pull Evan to the ground, Tyler doesn’t. He just stares at the prince’s hand gripping his wrist. Maybe if he stares hard enough, it’ll break. He shakes his head at that; he doesn’t want harm to come to the prince, that’s his whole job.

Evan jiggles his wrist to get his attention, as if he doesn’t already have it every moment of the day.

Tyler looks up, and is surprised to see how close they are.

Evan sends one last prayer that this doesn’t backfire, and closes the space between them, pressing his lips to Tyler’s. 

It’s barely a kiss - neither of them really know how, and it doesn’t help that Tyler’s frozen.

Evan backs away after a moment, immediately panicking. Eyes wide, breathing halted, Evan takes a step back. 

He turns to start sprinting back to the palace - he’s definitely faster than Tyler, so that wouldn’t be an issue.

But then Tyler’s hands are on his shoulders, turning him back. Before Evan can start either screaming or apologizing or both, Tyler’s kissing him again. 

Evan forgets how to function for a second, entirely focused on the incredible feeling of Tyler’s lips against his. 

This time, when they pull away, both of them are smiling like idiots. Tyler leans so his forehead is against Evan’s, his hands having found their way to the prince’s hips. 

“Thank you,” Evan whispers. He offers his hand, little finger extended. 

Tyler links their pinkies together. “Let’s go home,” He says.

Evan nods, lacing their hands together properly, and the two of them resume the journey back to the palace. They make it with no problem, both of them crawling through the window into Evan’s room. 

Evan suddenly feels awkward, standing in front of his guard in his room. He doesn’t know what he should do. Should he invite Tyler to stay? Should he send him to his own room? Should he kiss him so more and hope that an epiphany comes? 

Tyler decides for him. Rubbing the back of his neck, the guard offers a half-smile. “I’ll, uh, see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Evan.” 

He’s gone before Evan can conjure up enough brain cells to fucking do anything than stare at his guard’s back as Tyler goes to his own room. 

Now thoroughly hating himself, Evan strips his clothes, get into his nighttime pants - he doesn’t sleep with a shirt on, it’s too hot for that shit no matter what time of year it is - and goes to bed. 

And when he says ‘goes to bed’, Evan means laying there in his own self-loathing. He tosses, turns, backflips, frontflips, sommersaults, and considers attempting to summon Satan so he can fucking sleep. 

After four hours, Evan, now entirely frustrated with everything, throws his blanket to the floor. He gets up, and doesn’t waste a second thinking about what he’s going to do. He marches through his room and into Tyler’s room. 

The guard, having been trained to sleep lightly, is awake the second his door creaks open. He jumps out of bed, grabbing the sword he keeps right there, and is already in battle stance before he can even blink the sleep from his eyes. 

“It’s just me,” Evan says, attempting to keep his voice low. Now that he’s standing here, in front of his guard, his  _ crush _ , his confidence is melting into the stone floor. “I-I couldn’t sleep.” 

Tyler puts the sword down, then pauses at the prince’s words. He looks to his bed, then to Evan. He raises an eyebrow at his bed - it suddenly seems too shoddy for the prince.

“You really wanna sleep here?”

“If you’ll let me.” 

Well then. Tyler nods once. He gets back onto his bed, scooting to the far wall to make space. It isn’t nearly as luxurious as the prince’s bed is, and he can’t help but feel a bit embarrassed about it. 

Evan clambers in after him. It’s a bit awkward trying to get comfortable at first, but through sheer frustration, Evan manages it. 

It ends with him damn near latched onto Tyler’s side like a leech, arm around his torso, leg tossed over his, his head on his guard’s chest. 

“You comfy?” Evan asks, voice heavy with exhaustion suddenly creeping up on him. 

“Yeah,” Tyler answers. He really is, which is weird. 

“Good.” Evan promptly passes out, none of his earlier demons plaguing him. 

Tyler takes a bit longer to fall asleep, but only because he takes a moment to admire how cute Evan looks asleep. He looks  _ relaxed _ , something he knows the prince isn’t very often. 

Tyler smiles to himself, then lets the tendrils of sleep wrap around him as well. 

The next morning, Evan wakes up and is briefly confused as to why he’s so comfortable. 

Then the bed shifts, and he remembers yesterday, and last night.

Evan looks to his side, where Tyler is still sound asleep, soft snores filling in the quiet. Evan smiles to himself. He’d definitely like to repeat this experience. He’d also like to do nothing but stay in bed with Tyler, curled up against him, but the day awaits. 

Evan reaches a hand up, brushing Tyler’s hair out of his face. 

At his touch, the guard stirs. His eyes open slowly, blink a couple times, then focus on Evan. Tyler grins a little, obviously still sleepy as hell. 

“G’mornin,” Tyler mumbles.

Evan lets his hand rest on Tyler’s cheek where the beginnings of a beard are already growing. “Good morning,” he murmurs back. 

“We should probably get up.” 

“Probably.” 

Neither of them move. Too comfortable, too happy, too warm. 

At some point, Evan’s hand moves up to find Tyler’s, interlacing their pinkies together. They stay like that, content to bask in the morning peace.

It’s only when they hear a servant knocking on Evan’s door do they realize that they really do need to get up. 

Evan groans, standing up and shivering against the cold air. He opens Tyler’s door, seeing the servant standing at his own. He gives them a pointed stare. 

The servant takes the hint, and scurries off. 

Evan looks behind him, watching as Tyler gets up and stretches. His shirt rides up a little, and Evan finds himself wanting to push it up all the way-

“My eyes are up here.” 

Evan flushes, looking up to see Tyler smirking. “Shut up,” He mumbles, hurriedly leaving his guard’s room for his own.

It becomes a routine. During the day, no hint of a further relationship is seen. Tyler is merely Evan’s guard once more; they go about their days as prince and guard, if a bit more friendly with each other, teasing and joking just as friends do. 

At night, they allow each other to drop their titles. Evan’s just Evan, and Tyler’s just Tyler. 

They curl up together in Evan’s bed - it’s more spacious - and spend the nights like that. Sometimes they talk, sharing stories of their childhoods they didn’t get to on that fateful night on the roof with shitty wine. Sometimes they speculate about the future - whether their relationship will continue, how Evan will go about it once he’s king. Those conversations are rare, though. 

Both of them prefer to just live in the moment, and enjoy their time together.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Evan and Tyler spar in the courtyard. 

Evan’s slowly getting better at self-defense; that night in the forest made him realize just how much better he needs to get. 

Of course, he’ll never be better than Tyler, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

He’d much rather Tyler continue to be his guard. 

This particular match is going poorly for Evan. Most of them do, but that’s besides the point. 

He’s knocked onto the ground once more, for about the fourth or fifth time. He’s bruised, and his pride is hurt. 

He let’s Tyler pull him back up, but holds onto his guard’s hand this time. 

“Come with me tonight,” Evan says, looking into Tyler’s intense gaze. He doesn’t have to elaborate much, they both know tonight is a designated-Delirious night.

Tyler furrows his brows. “I always do, I follow you.” 

“You know what I mean,” Evan huffs. “I want you to meet Delirious, and besides he’s been nagging me to bring you around since, like, the day we met.” 

Tyler considers this for a moment. After a few seconds, he looks up to his prince. “You sure you want me there?” He wouldn’t be offended if Evan said no.

Evan links their pinkies together, offering a firm smile. “More than anything.” He makes sure no one is looking at them, then he presses a quick kiss to Tyler’s lips. He recoils, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. “You’re sweaty.” 

“I wonder why, it ain’t like I’ve been knocking your ass to the ground for the last two hours.” Tyler crosses his arms with a triumphant grin.

Evan huffed in disbelief. “You’re so mean to me!”

“Because you’re not mean to me?”

“This isn’t about me.” 

“Right.”

Later that night, Evan prepares for his trip in mostly the same way but with a spectacular addition. 

One of his favorite people on the planet.

Evan goes about his room, making he has what he needs: boots? Check. Jacket because it’s getting cold? Check. Pants? Check. Tyler?

Tyler’s standing near the window, all stiff and uncomfortable.

Check.

Evan grabs his sword and dagger, sheathing them for his own protection, then goes over to his guard. 

“You ready?” Evan asks, reaching his hand out, little finger extended. 

Tyler nods once, linking their pinkies together like it’s second nature.

Together, the two of them exit through the window, and journey through the forest.

Evan only has to knock on the door a single time before it’s thrown open, revealing Delirious. 

He’s wearing his mask, but he’s also practically vibrating with excitement. “Shit, you’re early!” He ushers the two of them inside with his frantic energy.

Once they’re in the house, Delirious stops for a moment to look at Tyler, examining him with careful eyes. 

Tyler looks to Evan, who just shakes his head with a smile. 

After having finished his examination, Delirious turns to Evan. “He  _ is  _ tall, goddamn.” 

“I told you.” 

He turns back to Tyler, hands clasped behind his back and head held high. “So you’re the fuckstick that has swooned our dear prince,” He says loudly. “I’ve got my eyes on you.” 

“And I’ve got mine on you,” Tyler warns.

Delirious groans, then looks to the prince. “Did you really bring a fuckin’ narc here?” 

“He’s not a narc,” Evan reassures him quickly. He can hear some of Delirious’ friends further in the house, and knows that they would bolt at the mere mention of a Royal Guard here. “He’s not anything tonight. We’re just Evan and Tyler, here to fuck some shit up.” 

Delirious raises his hands in mock surrender, then extends one out to Tyler. “Welcome to the squad,” He says, all genuine welcoming and being nice.

Tyler shakes his hand, and even offers a small smile. “Thanks.”  
“So what’s the plan for tonight, Del?” Evan asks.

Delirious claps his hands, then gestures for the both of them to follow him. “We got some good shit planned out, come on.” 

The good shit ended up being robbing the house of some noble that neither Tyler nor Evan had heard of or cared about. 

Being well-trained for this, Evan and Delirious did most of the work. Tyler and one of Delirious’ friends, Cartoonz, stood watch and helped them carry the stuff out. 

Once that was done, the loot was stashed in another one of Delirious’ friends house - Ohm, Tyler thinks, and then they went back to Delirious’ house to celebrate.

And of course, with Evan being Evan, Evan drank way too much alcohol. Like enough that he should probably be dead at this point.

Tyler had to cut him off, damn near wrestling the tankard away from the drunken prince. Evan eventually gave up on trying to keep it, instead choosing to sit on Tyler’s lap and annoy the shit out of him with affection. 

And that’s how they ended up in the corner of Delirious’ living room, on the floor. Tyler’s propped up against the wall, legs bent to keep Evan sturdy as Evan straddles him and holds his face in his hands. 

Evan’s just sitting there and smiling like he isn’t absolutely plastered in every way. 

“I like you so much,” Evan says, words slurring. He’s sort of… waving, from side to side, his entire body slowly pitching to the right and then to the left. “And I’m not jus’ drunk sayin’ that, like, I really like you. Like, I might love you, and I’m not drunk-sayin’ that, like fuck!” 

Tyler’s heart clenches. Now that he thinks about it, he might…  _ love _ Evan too. But he can’t deal with Evan only saying it when he’s drunk off his ass. 

“Say it again in the morning and I’ll believe you,” Tyler says instead, keeping his hands firm on the prince’s hip so he doesn’t pitch himself to the floor. 

“You should believe me now, ‘cause it’s true.” Evan leans in, close enough that Tyler can smell the mead lingering on his breath. Can see the pure adoration sparkling in Evan’s eyes. 

Then Tyler’s closing the space between them, kissing the prince, his prince. Evan tastes like mead, but also like Evan, and it’s perfect and Tyler never wants to break away. 

So of course Delirious has to ruin the moment. “If y’all are gonna suck face do it in the hallway,” He says as he throws an empty tankard at them. “If y’all are gonna fuck, do it outside.” 

“Is Delirious jealous?” Evan coos, shifting gracelessly to face his friend. “Do you wanna join us?” 

Tyler’s face burns, and Delirious and his friends laugh. 

“Not even a little, dude,” Delirious replies. 

_ Thank God, _ Tyler thinks to himself, burying his face into his hands. 

“Come on, Del, it’ll be fun!” 

And suddenly, Tyler’s grip on Evan’s hips tighten, going unnoticed by the drunken prince. “Evan,” Tyler quips, grabbing the prince’s arm to make him focus on his guard rather than his friend. “Maybe we should be going home now.” His voice is stern. 

Evan pouts, and it almost makes Tyler want to stay, just to make him happy. But then Delirious is there next to them, offering to help them off the ground. 

Evan takes his friend’s help, while Tyler waves him off. He can get off the ground perfectly fine on his own, and he does. 

“Yeah, it’s gettin’ late,” Delirious says. “Y’all should head back if you wanna get there before the sun does.” 

“I can race the sun no problem,” Evan states despite the fact that he can barely stand on his own. 

Trekking through the woods is going to be a struggle.

“I’m sure you can, bud.” Delirious brings the prince in for a hug, and Tyler clenches his fists very briefly. 

_ He’s just a friend, _ Tyler reminds himself.  _ Nothing more. _

He isn’t too certain, but he squashes down those thoughts when Evan’s managed to get behind him, hands on his shoulders pushing him to the door. “Onward, my trusty steed!” 

Tyler frowns, but there’s no heat to it. “I’m not a horse.” 

“Onward!” 

Tyler decides to try to make this easy, and listens. He says a brief goodbye to Delirious, thanks him again, then lets Evan push him out the door. 

They don’t make it too far - barely ten minutes, before Evan has to stop. 

Tyler watches with an amused grin as Evan leans heavily on a random house, eyes shut. 

Tyler thinks Evan is going to puke, but to his surprise - and gratification - he doesn’t. 

They move on, managing to make it into the forest no problem. 

Evan, keeping his eyes on his guard rather than the ground, trips over every goddamn thing. 

It gets to the point where Tyler gives up, and carries Evan. 

“A piggy-back ride for me?” Evan asks with childlike glee when Tyler kneels in the dirt. 

“Just get on.” 

“This isn’t the way I imagined I would ride you,” Evan murmurs as he clambers onto his guard’s back. 

Tyler chokes on air, almost sending the both of them to the ground. Evan’s just laughing, slumping against Tyler with his drunken exhaustion. 

“You’re the worst,” Tyler mutters. 

“Love you.” 

“The absolute worst.” Tyler makes sure Evan won’t fall, then gets going. 

It takes him a bit longer to make it through the woods - Evan isn’t helping, trying to grab onto branches and shit. By the time they break the treeline, Tyler’s sweating and his legs are hurting, and Evan’s just sober enough to walk. 

They finish the journey through the palace grounds - which is supposed to done quietly if one wishes to escape detection - with Evan trying to talk, and Tyler shushing him just as loudly. 

By the time they make it to where they have to climb through the window, Tyler’s ready to just call it quits and sleep on the ground. 

But then Evan climbs up and through the window with enough grace to make Tyler groan because he totally could’ve started walking much sooner. 

Tyler follows with a huff, almost crashing onto the floor with how tired he is. 

Evan’s already in the bed, lying diagonally across it.

Tyler just shoves him over, then collapses onto it. He falls asleep damn near instantly, while Evan gets comfy lying on top of him.

In the morning, Evan wakes up much sooner than Tyler, and with a blistering headache to boot. 

Evan looks at Tyler for a moment, silently appreciating the shit out him. He kind of regrets getting so drunk last night, but he was just so happy that Delirious welcomed him and that they all pulled off a job together. 

It was nice. 

This is nice too. Laying here with Tyler, basking in the morning sun even though it makes Evan’s eyes hurt. It’s very nice.

Evan waits until Tyler wakes up, already grouchy and sore. 

Tyler notices the prince watching him. He just watches Evan back, a smile forming despite him trying to be grumpy. 

“I love you,” Evan says, quiet so as to not disturb the peace of their morning.

Tyler blinks. “What?” 

“You said to tell you in the morning and you would believe me. So I’m telling you in the morning. I love you.” 

And goddamn if Tyler’s heart doesn’t soar. His grin widens until it hurts, he’s so happy it brings tears to his eyes. He pulls Evan closer to him, hugging him tight, burying his face into the crook of his prince’s neck. He feels dumb for being threatened by Delirious last night. Evan is his, just as he is Evan’s. 

“I love you too.”

Years later, when Evan is the King, he is still followed by his shadow. 

But he has also become a shadow of a sort. 

If you need to speak to the Head of the Royal Guard, you should look to the King’s side. 

If you need to speak to the King, you should look to the Head of the Royal Guard’s side. 

Tyler follows Evan, as Evan follows Tyler. 

Evan has taken a more hands-on approach to being king; ensuring that everything is running smoothly by checking on things in person, traveling great distances very often. 

Tyler is always there with him, protecting him as well as comforting him from the stresses of his job. 

Since he has been promoted to Head of the Royal Guard, Tyler has also taken on a more direct approach to running the Guard as well as training new recruits. He tours the grounds, searching for breaches in security, testing his guards to ensure that they will protect the king with their life, just as he does. 

Evan is always there with him, greeting the guards and making Tyler feel at ease as he learns the ropes in his new position of power. 

Perhaps they haven’t been dealt the hand in life they wished they were; Evan and Tyler sometimes speculate about living different lives, lives of anonymity, lives where they could just live as they were - in love, away from the public eye, away from such powers as well as the dangers that follow. 

But this, their lives as they are, is perfect too. 

Because Evan and Tyler have each other. They love each other, the kind of love that everyone dreams to have for themselves. 

Yeah, life could definitely be worse than having your soulmate by your side every minute of the day.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked it, please leave a comment or a kudos! They go a long way!


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